SEDDON HOMES LIMITED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT CONSISTING OF REFURBISHMENT AND CONVERSION OF FORMER PUBLIC HOUSE TO FORM NO

Transcription

1 Caulmert Limited Engineering, Environmental & Planning Consultancy Services SEDDON HOMES LIMITED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT CONSISTING OF REFURBISHMENT AND CONVERSION OF FORMER PUBLIC HOUSE TO FORM NO.1 FOUR BEDROOM AFFORDABLE HOUSE AND ERECTION OF A 3 STOREY AFFORDABLE APARTMENT BUILDING (COMPRISING OF NO.15 TWO BEDROOM APARTMENTS AND NO.9 ONE BEDROOM APARTMENTS) WITH ASSOCIATED AMENITY SPACES, CAR PARKING AND LANDSCAPE GARDEN ON LAND AT FAIRVIEW INN, ABERGELE ROAD, LLANDDULAS, CONWY COMMUNITY AND LINGUISTIC STATEMENT Prepared by: Caulmert Limited Intec, Parc Menai, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 4FG neilfoxall@caulmert.com Web: Doc ref: 3168.CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 September 2017

2 APPROVAL RECORD Site: Client: Project Title: Document Title: Document Ref: Report Status: Project Director: Project Manager: Caulmert Limited: Seddon Homes Limited Residential Development Consisting of Refurbishment and Conversion of Former Public House to form No.1 Four Bedroom Affordable House and Erection of a 3 Storey Affordable Apartment Building (Comprising of No.15 Two Bedroom Apartments and No.9 One Bedroom Apartments) with Associated Amenity Spaces, Car Parking And Landscape Garden 3168.CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 FINAL Jonathan Sykes Neil Foxall Intec, Parc Menai, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 4FG Telephone: Author Neil Foxall Date 4 th September 2017 Reviewer Clive Cunio Date 8 th September 2017 Approved Jonathan Sykes Date 8 th September 2017 DISCLAIMER This report has been prepared by Caulmert Limited with reasonable skill, care and diligence, in accordance with the instruction of the above named client and within the terms and conditions of the Contract with the Client. The report is for the sole use of the above named Client and Caulmert Limited shall not be held responsible for any use of the report or its content for any purpose other than that for which it was prepared and provided to the Client. Caulmert Limited accepts no responsibility of whatever nature to any third parties who may have been made aware of or have acted in the knowledge of the report or its contents. No part of this document may be copied or reproduced without the prior written approval of Caulmert Limited CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 1

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Background The Site The Proposed Development The Applicant/s AREA PROFILE Conwy County Borough Council Llanddulas PLANNING POLICY Introduction National Local COMMUNITY AND LINGUISTIC ASSESSMENT Introduction General (all types of development) Residential CONCLUSION FIGURES Figure 1 Site Location 3169.CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 2

4 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background has been appointed by Seddon Homes Limited on behalf of Cartrefi Conwy ( the applicant ) to produce this to accompany a planning application for a residential development comprising of no.1 four bedroom affordable house, no. 15 two bedroom affordable apartments and no. 9 one bedroom affordable apartments on land at Fairview Inn, Abergele Road, Llanddulas The statement is required to accompany the planning application as per Policy CTH/5 of Conwy County Borough Council Local Development Plan. This is necessary in order to provide an indication of the likely scale of impact on the Welsh Language, together with any necessary measures which may be required in order to address any negative effects identified The importance of the Welsh Language as a planning matter is recognised in National Planning Policy. This is further supported by Conwy County Borough Council planning policies and more specifically its adopted Supplementary Planning Guidance Welsh Language which seek to ensure that development supports the character and language balance of predominantly Welsh speaking communities and seeks to defend such communities from inappropriate development with the potential to undermine the language. 1.2 The Site The existing site comprises the Fairview Inn and associated beer garden and parking. Above the Inn is a residential flat used by the tenant of the Inn. An aerial view (from Google) of the site is shown in Figure 1 below CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 3

5 1.2.2 The A547,Abergele Road runs through the village and the Fair View Inn site is located on the northern side of the carriage way and forms the end of a terrace of late 19 th Century cottages with a late Victorian villa with stone elevations and brick quoins to the north The building is surrounded, immediately, to the west, south and east by mid to late 20 th century residential developments of varying quality. St Cynbryd s Church and cottages that form the original village settlement are located slightly further south from the site and are constructed of the locally quarried grey limestone Llanddulas lies close to the North Wales coastline, on the south side of the A55 Expressway, two and a half miles west of Abergele and three and a half miles east of the coastal resort of Colwyn Bay in the community of Llanddulas & Rhyd-y-Foel The population of Llanddulas in 2011 was 1,542. The Fair View Inn, built in 1890, sits adjacent to the junction of Station Road and the A547 Abergele Road Llanddulas s history is based on the extraction of limestone at the local quarry. Some local residents are still employed at the quarry and many of the older houses are built in the grey local limestone. More recently the village has also grown through tourism with a number of holiday chalet parks to the north and east of the village With the A55 Expressway and main North Wales train line running just to the North of the village it also provides good links to the larger towns and Cities in North Wales and North West England for commuters. 1.3 The Proposed Development The proposed development is for the part demolition and refurbishment of the existing public house to form a residential dwelling together with the erection of an affordable housing apartment building. In summary, the development will comprise of the following number of dwellings; No.1 Four Bedroom Affordable House No.15 Two Bedroom Affordable Apartments No.9 One Bedroom Affordable Apartments 1.4 The Applicant/s The development is being promoted by the applicant, Seddon Homes Limited, in partnership with Cartrefi Conwy. Cartrefi Conwy is a housing association who provide quality, affordable homes and services to tenants and strive to protect and develop the culture and heritage of the communities As a registered social landlord their primary purpose is to provide affordable rented homes to those in housing need. They are an independent not-for-profit organisation registered and 3169.CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 4

6 regulated by the Welsh Government. Being not-for-profit means any surplus income is put back into the business so that they are able to continue providing homes and services and achieve their objectives CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 5

7 2.0 AREA PROFILE 2.1 Conwy County Borough Council The most recent Census (2011) estimated that in Conwy County Borough there were 30,600 people aged 3 or over who are able to speak Welsh. This is 27.4% of the population. For Wales as a whole only 19% of the population were able to speak Welsh The ability to speak Welsh differs between age groups: The ability to speak Welsh is most prevalent amongst those of school age overall, 49.2% of 5-15 year olds can speak Welsh Those aged have the lowest proportions of Welsh speakers (only 20.4%), though even in this age group Conwy CB is well above the Wales average) In general, the number of Welsh speaker s increases towards the west, and as one travels inland from the more highly populated coastal strip. Welsh speaking is; at a peak in the rural southern electoral division (ward) of Uwchaled with 71% Welsh speaking; and at its lowest in the eastern coastal community of Towyn & Kinmel Bay with less than 12% Welsh speaking However, numerically there are many more Welsh speakers in the urban areas than in the more sparsely populated rural area; for example Rhos-on-Sea has over 1,350 Welsh speakers Between 2001 and 2011 the number of Welsh speakers in the County Borough fell from 31,050 to 30,600 a decrease of 450 or -6.2%. As a proportion this was a fall from 29.2% of the population aged 3+ in 2001 to 27.4% in This decline has been continuous over the past four Censuses Not all areas in Conwy have seen a persistent decline in Welsh speaking abilities however. Between 2001 and 2011 four electoral divisions saw an overall increase in Welsh speakers within their population in terms of both numbers and proportion; Penrhyn (Llandudno), Kinmel Bay, Llandrillo yn Rhos and Eglwysbach. A further 11 electoral divisions saw a numeric increase in the number of Welsh speakers, even though there was a proportionate decline Conwy has the fifth highest proportion of Welsh speakers in its population, behind Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, Ceredigion and Carmarthen. Numerically, the County Borough ranks sixth. Conwy s 30,600 Welsh speakers make up 5.4% of the Welsh speaking population of Wales based on a population as a whole making up 3.8% of the total Welsh population Only 12.2% of pupils in local authority schools are fluent in Welsh. 16.4% of pupils are in Welsh medium schools, which is higher than the proportion of fluent Welsh speakers, and a further 3169.CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 6

8 21.7% of pupils are educated in schools which provide significant schooling through the medium of Welsh. 2.2 Llanddulas The most recent ONS data (2014) indicated that the Llanddulas ward had a population of 1,600 people. Of these, 819 people stated they were born within Wales The most recent Census (2011) estimated that in the Llanddulas ward there were 308 people aged 3 or over who are able to speak Welsh which equates to 20.5% of the population As indicated above, this compares to 27.4% for whole of Conwy and 19% of Wales. Therefore Llanddulas has a slightly above average percentage of Welsh speakers when compared to Wales and below average within the county of Conwy CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 7

9 3.0 PLANNING POLICY 3.1 Introduction This statement follows the methodology and guidance set out by the National Planning Guidance embodied in Planning Policy Wales, TAN 20, the adopted Conwy County Borough Council Local Development Plan (particularly CTH/5 - The Welsh Language) together with the related Supplementary Planning Guidance LDP6: The Welsh Language (November 2014). 3.2 National Technical Advice Note 20: Planning and the Welsh Language (October 2013), emphasises the need to address how the land use planning system can be used to consider and, if necessary, mitigate any effects of development on the Welsh language and the sustainability of Welsh language communities. The TAN states that in some areas both the number of Welsh speakers and the use made of the language is increasing, but in other areas there is a decline. The future of the language across the whole of Wales will depend on a wide range of factors, particularly education, demographic change, community activities and a sound economic base to maintain thriving sustainable communities With regard to development management, the TAN maintains that, in determining individual planning applications and appeals where the needs and interests of the Welsh language may be a material consideration, decisions must, as with all other planning applications, be based on planning grounds only and be reasonable. Adopted development plan policies are planning grounds, including those which have taken the needs and interests of the Welsh language into account. 3.3 Local In assessing the potential impact of the proposal on the Welsh Language, this statement aims to satisfy the requirements of Adopted CCBC LDP Policy CTH/5 The Welsh Language and the associated Supplementary Planning Guidance LDP6: The Welsh Language (November 2014) Policy CTH/5 of the LDP ensures the Welsh Language is supported and promoted and states; 1. The Council will ensure that development supports and sustains the long term well-being of the Welsh language, and will resist development which, because of its size, scale or location, will significantly harm the character and linguistic balance of a community. The LDP strategy has been assessed for Welsh language impact and the following requirements identified: a) Allocated housing sites in Abergele and Llanrwst and the allocated mixed use site in Dolgarrog will require Mitigation Statements in line with the results of the Welsh Language Impact Assessment; b) A should accompany: 3169.CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 8

10 Housing applications on unallocated sites of ten units or more in the Urban Development Strategy Area and five units or more in the Rural Development Strategy area; A commercial, industrial or tourist development on unallocated sites with an area of 1,000 square metres or more in the Plan Area and; Development which is likely to lead to the loss of community facilities as defined in Policy CFS/6. c) Once housing windfall delivery is met for a spatial strategy area in line with figures in table 3 HOU1a, this will trigger a review which would introduce assessment of all unallocated housing applications against the Welsh language; d) A more detailed assessment in the form of a Community and Linguistic Impact Assessment should accompany: Housing applications on windfall sites of 20 units or more in the Urban Development Strategy Area and ten units or more in the Rural Development Strategy Area; A commercial, industrial or tourist development on unallocated sites with an area of 2000 square metres or more in the Plan Area. 2. The Council will encourage throughout the Plan Area both the provision of bilingual signs and the retention of traditional Welsh names for new developments and streets The proposal, for no.25 residential units, was subject to formal pre-application request with Conwy County Borough Council. In their response dated 25 th April 2017 it was stated that any future application should be supported by a in line with SPG LDP SPG LDP6 provides further guidance on the requirement and content of a Community and Linguistic Statement. Section 5 is of most relevance to this proposal and this statement has been produced using the guidance contained within the section, particularly sections 5.2 and CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 9

11 4 COMMUNITY AND LINGUISTIC ASSESSMENT 4.1 Introduction Section 5.2 of Conwy County Borough Council SPG LDP6 The Welsh Language states that the Community and linguistic Statement should answer, with evidence, questions contained within sections of the SPG which are relevant to the type of the development proposed Section 4.2 below assesses the questions contained within the appropriate sections of the SPG having described the overall assessment and including a brief statement of evidence. Should a negative impact be identified, a statement will be provided to identify appropriate mitigation measures. 4.2 General (all types of development) Are there appropriate local services such as shops, residential / community facilities to serve the development? Yes. Within the village of Llanddulas there are two public houses, a fish and chip takeaway, convenience store and a 24/7 fuel station which includes a convenience store. Therefore it is considered that there is a variety of services and facilities in Llanddulas which are believed sufficient to support a growth in population resulting from the new development. The new homes will help the local community since small businesses will benefit from the increase in population, although the effect will in fact be small Will the proposal create new opportunities to promote the Welsh language and local initiatives in the community? Yes. The applicant is a registered Welsh housing provider and as such will aim to support and promote the Welsh Language wherever possible How will the development promote the use of the Welsh language in the community? Cartrefi Conwy intends to develop this site for local people seeking affordable housing at Intermediate and Social rents. Prospective tenants must complete official applications through Conwy CBC s Housing Team. The application process will give consideration and additional weighing to local connections. This will ensure that local people with a connection to the area will have more chance to occupy the proposed dwellings which in turn will by its very nature ensure any potential Welsh speakers are not overlooked What are the proposed mitigation measures? 3169.CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 10

12 The following mitigation measures are proposed; Agreements to provide for people on the local housing register; Provision of street names / development names which have regard to local linguistic heritage. Regionally targeted marketing and communication strategies (Conwy and neighbouring local authorities). Monitor the household occupancy of new dwellings. 4.3 Residential What is the expected market price for the houses and how does this compare with local household income? The median income within Llanddulas is 27,000 compared to 23,750 overall in Conwy and 24,250 in Wales. All units will be affordable housing available for social housing rental and would be owned and operated by Cartrefi Conwy who would set the rental price. It is proposed that the rental tenure will be no.24 Intermediate Rent and no.1 Social Rent Have there been similar developments in scale completed in the past 5 years? If yes, have they met primarily local needs? Yes. A total of 21 dwellings have recently been built off Station Road, Llanddulas. It is understood these are social housing dwellings Does the development include an appropriate element of affordable housing to meet local need? Yes. The proposal comprises of no.25 units which are affordable housing units comprising of no.1 four bedroom house, no.15 two bedroom apartments and no.9 one bedroom apartments How will the development be phased? It is expected that the development would be constructed in one complete phase Does the proposal comply with the type and demand of housing forecasted in the LDP? Yes. The proposal supports Conwy CBC objective of providing social rent units in an area of high housing need. Affordable housing has been identified as one of the main issues within Conwy and is promoted through various policies of the LDP CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 11

13 The Local Housing Market Assessment states the requirement of 915 Social Housing units to be built within the plan period (by 2022) and the proposed development will contribute to this target. The proposal comprises of a mix of dwelling types which reflects the need for affordable units in Llanddulas, and reflects the need for smaller units in the wake of bedroom tax changes What has been the rate of residential growth in the community in the past 5 years? According to the CCBC Llanddulas Area Profile there has been a 0.7% increase in population between 2004 and What has been the percentage occupancy by local people of new dwellings completed in the past 5 years? According to the JHLAS between 2013 and 2017 a total of no. 31 new units have been completed within Llanddulas. No data on the occupancy of these dwellings by local people is available at the time of writing Would the proposal involve building any second homes? Would they be marketed locally? If not, where? No not applicable. 1 Confirmed in correspondence with Conwy CBC 8 th September CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 12

14 5.0 CONCLUSION This to accompany a planning application for a residential development comprising of no.1 four bedroom affordable house, no. 15 two bedroom affordable apartments and no. 9 one bedroom affordable apartments at Fairview Inn, Abergele Road, Llanddulas It is considered that the proposal provides an opportunity to promote the use of the Welsh language as well as introduce social and economic benefits to the area In conclusion it is considered that the proposed development is anticipated to have a neutral to positive impact on the Welsh language and its future in the Community of Llanddulas and the surrounding area CAU.XX.XX.RP.T.0314.S4.C1 13

15 Registered Office: InTec, Parc Menai, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 4FG Tel: Fax: Web: